Stahlsac Jamaican Smuggler or Akona <10 lbs. Bag

[Paco II]

Looking to pick up one of these bags and was looking for some feedback. The negatives I have read about the Akona bag is that the zippers are weak - but apparently Akona has just updated the bag with new stronger zippers. The Stahlsac looks nice, but is it too bulky?

Would love to hear from people who have used these bags. TIA!

 

[HenrikBP]

I went bag shopping in the spring and looked at a bunch of different bags, both brands and models. I do lots (way too much maybe) research, and LeisurePro is local to me, so I had the opportunity to look at lots of bags (thanks Brett and Ben )

The Akona <10 bag looked nice enough on the website, but I was disappointed that it overall seemed a tad flimsy. My main quip though, was that the internal compression straps, that are supposed to hold the gear steady, were were just stitched to the outer fabric of the bag. If they had run the straps "all the way around" behind the handle uprights, I would probably have bought the bag. Granted, I haven't done a long term test and put this bag through the wringer. It's entirely possible that I'm just imagining issues, and that the bag would hold up perfectly.

As it was though, the Jamaican Smuggler, to me, seemed like a much sturdier bag; zippers are huge, fabric is very strong, the handle uprights are padded/covered inside the bag, the bag is lined and has a separate, collapsible compartment for wet gear. Double/tripple stitching everywhere, and the inside compression straps are solidly secured to the "tub" that creates the bottom of the bag. The outer compression straps are stitched in with the handle straps, that wrap along the outside of the fabric and secures to the "tub" as well.

A nice feature, that I don't recall if the Akona has, is that the bottom (when bag is standing upright) of the Smuggler is secured with an inner "plate", which enables the bag to stand upright by itself, even if the bag isn't completely full/stuffed.

The Smuggler is a bit pricey, but a great piece of gear. I weighed the Smuggler (me on bath scale with and without bag), and found it to weigh about 9 lbs. Not very accurate - granted - but at least a point of reference.

So in short, I'm very happy with the Smuggler and for my $$ would recommend it over the Akona.

Hope this helps

Henrik

 

[Paco II]

Thanks so much for the post. VERY helpful!

 

[Makai]

Henrik,

Do you think I could pass the Jamaican Smuggler off as a carry-on bag or is it too big? Do you think it would fit in the overhead bin of most commercial planes?

Makai

 

[gromit605]

Hey Makai - I have the Jamaican Smuggler and I do believe it would be too large to fit in the overhead bin - particularly if stuffed with dive gear.

 

[Makai]

Thanks, Gromit. I was afraid that would be the case. I've already started looking at the on-line luggage sellers for a smaller alternative.

 

[HenrikBP]

Sorry for the late reply - been out of town for awhile; but as Gromit already stated, the bag is no doubt too big for carry-on.

Addition to my Smuggler review:

The bag holds an amazing amount of stuff. I'm fairly good at packing and making the most of the space available, but on a recent trip (not diving = no dive gear) I really didn't think I would be able to fit all our stuff in the Smuggler. Well, I packed everything plus a bit and still had room left over.

A tiny nit with the Smuggler: the bottom of the bag - when standing upright - is all fabric plus a webbing handle (very nice for lifting the bag around). That means, that when you're rolling along and drop off a curb or similar, the fabric bottom sometimes hits and wears on the curbing. Not a big deal, as it's only once in awhile, but I would think it adds a bit of wear to the fabric in that area. So far I'm not seeing any additional wear compared to the rest of the bag, but down the line maybe. With the current rate of wear it'll likely be way down the road - if ever.

Of course, the folding bottom that allows the bag to stand when less than full, as well as allows easy storing of the empty bag, say under a bed, is one of the very nice things about the bag. A worthy compromise I guess.

I noticed on my recent trip, with about 65 lbs in the bag, that the wheels "squat" a bit and get kinda "bowlegged". Granted that's a lot of weight, and it looks like it's just flex in the frame of the bag. So I don't think it's an issue.

Anyway - after several trips with the bag, I'm still lovin' it.

Henrik

 

[geraldp]

Do you think I could pass the Jamaican Smuggler off as a carry-on bag or is it too big? Do you think it would fit in the overhead bin of most commercial planes?Makai

The dimensions are 27X18X15, totalling 6480 cu. inches. I don't know about all airlines, but United Airlines max carry-on dimensions are: 22 x 14 x 9, so that would make the Smuggler quite a bit larger than that.

I just picked up a Stahlsac Jamaican Smuggler at lunch today... will report back from my Cozumel trip in a couple of weeks. I have a monster pack from DeepOutdoors (Proud Mary) that holds 9200 cu. feet (before expansion), but wanted something smaller. My DeepOutdoors is too big to drag around the airport, and technically is too big to fit in check-on (alhthough nobody has made a fuss about it).

Jerry

 

[geraldp]

I just picked up a Stahlsac Jamaican Smuggler at lunch today... will report back from my Cozumel trip in a couple of weeks.

I got back Saturday... I was able to load my complete set of gear plus my wifes snorkel gear (3-5-3 wetsuit, BCD, camera housing, rashguard, snorkel vest, 2 sets of mask/snorkel/fins) with room to spare. I hand-carried my regulators and computer. I loaded it up to close to 60 pounds.

Things I liked about it:thumbs_up:

• compression straps inside and out
• Huge main compartment
• 2nd compartment available on top (possibly big enough for regulators)
• zip-up mesh compartment inside on flap
• wheels tracked decently when rolled through airport
• optional duffle handle
• grab handle on both ends

Things I wasn't as impressed with :thumbs_down:

• Pull handle seemed a little little short (I'm 6'2)
• Pull handle seemed a little flimsy when the bag was really loaded
• grab handle on top was too thin... it hurt my hand to lift
• wish it had backpack straps

I felt the bag was too big and awkward to take out on the small dive boat with me, so I brought a smaller mesh dive bag for that purpose. I didn't view that as a negative.

p.s. October 2008 issue of ScubaDiving magazine has a review on a dozen or more dive bags. They had some nice things to say about the Stahlsac.

 

[HenrikBP]

The end comportment on my Smuggler is a near perfect fit for my Akona regulator bag - I forget the name, but it's the one with the rounded top.

The pull handle could be a tad longer; usually not an issue for me (5' 10" on a good day), but when rolling over bumps or off of curbs, the bottom of the bag sometimes scrape, which would be less with a bit more angle on the bag.

Never had a problem with handle "sturdyness" though. I've only loaded it to the air travel allowed 50 lbs, but everything held up fine without feeling overloaded.

Henrik